I got my new Bella Solids Color Card in the mail over the weekend and I realized that many of you may not even know that such a thing exists.

My LQS carries Moda Bella solids, which I prefer to Kona cotton. I think they are a smoother, tighter weave. Moda released a ton of new colors in 2012 and my 2011 color card was not keeping up. This one has 208 colors!

Why do I need a color card? I use solids a lot for linings and backings. They are less expensive than prints, but I think the main reason is that I tend to not buy a main print and lining/backing and by the time I get around to using my fabric, the line is sold out. I’m terrible at mixing and matching, so I’m not brave enough to print a coordinating print from a different line. That’s why solids help me out a lot. But, my LQS only carries the few dozen colors that match the lines they have in the shop at the time. Fat Quarter Shop has all of them. This is so much easier than trying to guess based on the color on the computer screen. Plus, I don’t want to wait for my package to arrive only to find out that I guessed wrong.

Can you tell which group of colors I like best? :D

If you use solids a lot, this will make your life much easier. They are on sale 20% off at Fat Quarter Shop (so are all Bella solids – I recommend Hyacinth and Berrylicious!) through the end of February! So the color cards are only $23.99 and yardage is $5.59 a yard! Go stock up now!

I apologize if I’ve been less available this week – one of the many reasons I wish my body was covered under warranty is the plantar fasciitis/fasciosis I’ve been dealing with for years. It’s arch and heel pain and it’s probably genetic. There was a time when I couldn’t even get through one single trip to Target or JoAnn without being in tears from the pain. Now it’s more like 2 or 3 stores. :-/ So after driving reallllly far, way too often, to see a specialist, they determined I was a lost cause with conventional treatment (shocker, i’m always in that unlucky 1%) and decided to do surgery. And it’s a one-foot-at-a-time thing so as soon as I stop limping on one side, they’ll do the other. I’m still not moving very quickly and won’t be for a while. I always have my phone if I’m awake but lengthy email replies are waiting until the next time I crawl over to my computer. They did my left foot first, so I can still sew for a little bit – it’s getting to my sewing room and moving over to and standing at the ironing board that’s exhausting. I do have something to be thankful for though – no boot. And however the doc did it, I only had it wrapped for a day and waterproof bandages after that. :D (This is exciting because it means showering like a normal person and not getting creative with duct tape and garbage bags.)

Anyway, I made four prototypes in the last few weeks. I’m not at all happy with the top zip tote  - I think because of the extra interfacing for a tote vs. a wristlet and the just looks better with an inset zipper. And I’m very “meh” right now about the sling bag. The pieces all fit together, I’m just not very excited about it. So, I’ll back-burner those and show you the two I like. I have several more ideas that need to get out of my head and crossed off the list, but two solid prototypes is a good stopping point.

You’ve already seen the pink one.  I’m going to make it in a few more colors to try out some different hardware ideas. The delay on this one is nailing down the right hardware. Ideally I’d like some 5/8″ slides so I can use the same lobster clasps and D-rings as the wristlet.  Or maybe some 3/4″ slides + rectangles or 3/4″ lobster clasps. I’m hoping El from Tantalizing Stitches can help me out with the right combo. These came off of 2 old dog leashes, so I don’t have a source for them.

The Backpack. I bought this fabric at least a year ago, maybe longer? and I’d always intended to make it into a backpack like this. There are a zillion tutorials and patterns for these for kids, but I wanted one for me to take to the gym. I have one of those cheapy nylon ones, but I wanted a cute one with a zipper. I don’t usually change at the gym, but I need my earbuds, inhaler, lock, etc. and if I don’t keep them in a designated bag, I forget them. And I can put my phone and keys in the front pocket so I don’t lose them deep in the bag. Of course I’m seeing the imperfections – the zippered pocket definitely needs to get moved down. Otherwise I’m thrilled with it. I gave it an oval bottom so it holds more stuff, especially my giant water bottle, and stands up! Plus no grommets on the bottom taking up space. Button holes make the straps lie flat. Most of you on FB were fine with button holes. Yell at me now if you hate them and will never ever consider making this bag if you must sew button holes. :)

So, what do you think? Which one should I write the pattern for first??

I spent a few days this week “fun sewing.”  The Bernina 750 that I ordered back in October finally arrived, so I jumped right in and made a few things to get a feel for it. Sewing is always fun for me, but stopping to take pictures for patterns or tutorials can get tedious (and so can cutting out your 14th Daytripper…) So I just decided to take a week and have some fun.

My husband followed me into JoAnn’s a while back and this landed in my cart. :) I’ve made my share of tie blankets and really, it’s faster to just sew. So that’s what I did. He even chose a decorative stitch! So the answer to “how to get your husband to fabric shop and help you sew” is clearly, make a Star Trek: The Next Generation fleece blanket while watching ST: First Contact.

 

My brother, of course, saw it on Instagram and loved it, and it’s his birthday today so luckily I was able to get back to JoAnn in time to grab the last one, so I could make him one as well. I also found these adorably geeky fabrics and made him some potholders.

The square ones are 9″-ish. The oval ones are “Just a Pinch Potholders” from Michelle Patterns. All fussy cutting is entirely accidental. Don’t you love when that happens?

  I also made this cute little bag, which I posted on the FB page and got everyone all excited over there! :) So this one will go at the top of the pattern list. I still have a couple other prototypes to get out of my head before deciding which to do next.

And finally, finished just barely in time to get in the mail before the USPS rate hike, a “Bite me” pillow for my friend Erin. Yes, that’s a moustache with fangs. It’s a Sanctuary thing. Sort of. Just go with it. It’s kind of a little epic. See, this is what happens when you put the two of us in the same room with too much sugar or caffeine, or not enough sleep. This is why we must live on the same continent, and why oceans suck. Also, my new machine was meant to applique. <3

So hopefully I can get at least one more bag prototype done before I get completely fed up with the mess in here and have to organize and clean it. We have actually discussed swapping my sewing room with our bedroom. We only have two bedrooms but they are shaped completely differently and the layouts might work better if we do that. We’ll see. I would love a more fuctional layout but I am dreading having to give up a week or two to move and re-organize everything. This new machine is HUGE though, and my current setup isn’t working. I think maybe I’ll try to crank out at least a pattern and a tutorial first, then move while you all are sewing away!

Every time I click over to the Dog Under My Desk Flickr group I find more cool stuff you guys are making! I know everyone loves Instagram, but sometimes even if you tag me I might not see it, especially when IG moves so quickly. It seems it’s very much like Twitter in that once it’s a few hours old, it’s old.

Adding your photos to the Flickr group lets us all get to see cool stuff like this - A Quick Zip Lunch Bag WITH a back pocket!

And this - An extra wide Two Zip Hipster laptop bag. How cool is that?

Seeing all the Daytrippers just makes me smile… :) (Has anyone made a mini yet??)

And wristlets and pouches!

And a turtle Two Zip!! I want that fabric :)

So, what have you been making? Link up so we can all see!

A few of you may have noticed already – I added a Reviews section to each PDF Pattern page! I love all of the comments that you leave on my tutorials and I love getting Etsy feedback and all of the emails that you send me about my patterns! So, I’ve been wanting to add a feature like this for a while and I think I finally found the right plugin!

If you’ve completed one of my patterns and maybe emailed me a review or left feedback on Etsy, could you take a few minutes and post on the pattern page? Thank you!